Philippine Maritime History humanized, a life and its parts and progression. MATA is the first book of 80-year-old Capt. Benjamin P. Mata. In it, as we are riveted by his childhood during World War II, his first journeys out at sea and his rise to becoming captain in a field in which he would play a preeminent role, we also witness the growth of a family man, who care only for success if it contributed to the happiness of those he loved. This is the story of sailing toward a better life – in one’s career, for one’s family, friends, and colleagues, amid the rise of a most important industry.